Religion

Pharaoh

by Anonymous (Old English) c. 7th–11th century

Translated by Benjamin Thorpe (1842) · From Codex Exoniensis, ed. and trans. Benjamin Thorpe (1842)

ReligionHistory & Politics

Tell me what multitude there
was altogether
in Pharaoh's host,
when they God's people,
through enmity,
resolv'd to follow.
I know it not at all,
but I believe thus :
that there of chariots were
distinguish'd by number
six hundred
bearing arms.
That all destroy'd
* * *
hostile fate,
in the world's realm.

✦ ✦ ✦

A fragment of the Exeter Book that asks how many chariots Pharaoh led against the Israelites; Thorpe prints it as "A Fragment", with a gap marked by asterisks.

MLA

Anonymous (Old English). “Pharaoh.” Translated by Benjamin Thorpe. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-old-english/223/.

Chicago

Anonymous (Old English). “Pharaoh.” Translated by Benjamin Thorpe. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-old-english/223/.

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